Heater



May 26,1941 y J. T. GRo'rENl-luls 2,283,986

MATER Filed Feb. 1, 1959 2 sheets-sheet 1y l g INENT-.OIK BY I ATTORNEY.

May 25 19m2 J. 1'. GRoTENl-luis 42,283,986

HEA'PEER J Filed Feb. 1, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W40 W 4; 4f /l/ /3 (e /I3 lz ll l' \x) L 2z I -zz f /f/ ll 5 e 59 57 2z :s 5.9 5.9L

Patented May 26, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEATEE 5 James T. Grotenhuis, Orange City, Iowa Applicationretruary 1, 1939,*seria1N0. 254,051 1 claim. (cl. 12s- 110) My invention relates to a heatermore specili-V cally of an oil burning type.

An object of my invention is to provide a heater having a base structure which will deflect or direct air currents upwardly or downwardly in a proper manner consistent with the best efficiency. A further object of my invention is to provide a heater which provides the combination of an up and a down draft. Y

A further object of my invention isto provide a heater which provides elements so arranged that an intimate contact is provided during upward and downward travel of the heat conveying currents etc.

A further object of my invention is to provide v a heaterwhich'provides a combination of a restricted cross section for forced draft and a larger section for natural draft ror circulation.

A further object of my invention is to provide a plurality of combustion chambers connected in series with or without a similar number of burnersVV so that the gases will pass through the successive combustion chambers and thence to the stack to provide a greater heating eciency to the entire unit with a reduced amount of fuel being necessary. Y f

A further object of my invention is' to provide a heater having a blower member in the base thereof for circulating the air in the heater.

A further object of my invention is to provide and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: f n

Figure 1 is a sectional view taken through one form of the heater,

Figure 2 is an end elevation,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a modification,

at a

means for conveying the heated air currents in Figure 5 is an end elevation with a' portion thereof taken in section along the lines 5-,5 of Figure 4, and Y -V Figure 6 is a section taken along the'lines'S-E of Figure 4.

I have usedfthe character I0 to represent the outer shell or casing of the heater whichn includes the end walls II and the side walls I2 and which includes the top member I3 having the grill opening I4. Each corner of the casing includes the integrally formed .vertical flat portions I5 which merge with the further horizontal ilat portions i6. Attached in angular relation to the ends II and the sides I2 are the supporting lmembers I'I L upon which is mounted a plate I8 which is attached thereto and upon which plate rests the cylindrical burner` I9 :having the lower opening 20 and the upper opening 2|. 'Ihe burner -is not shown in section and can be of a'standard type and received about the burner I 9 is the cylindrical 'combustion chamber 22 having the top 23 and communicating with the combustion chamber 23 is the flue connection or pipe 24. .v

Suitably attached to the member I1 is the base member 25 which base member includes the arcuate ends 26 and the arcuate sides 21, the arcuate configuration thereof being represented` by the character 28. The members 26 and 21 are preferably made of sheetmetal which are suitably welded or attached to the Ycast corner Ylegs 29 which includes the same arcuate coniiguration, beingl built up, however, of the flat arcuate strips 30 at the corners of the base, being substantially similar to the form of the portions I5. The legs 29 project only a very slight distance below the edges 3| of the sides 26 and 2'I to insure stability to the structure. A door 32 for cleaning or lightingthe burner is pivotecl at 33 to the outer shell which communicates `through thecombustion shell 22.as will be explained in a later structure to be described. Y

e It will be noted that the outer shell I0 extends ving effect in theV combustion chamber 22, the

heated air will rise vertically about the combustion chamber and will pass upwardly through the grill I 4. This, however, represents only a portion of the total heat generated by the unit and a portion of the heat will be radiated downwardly against the curved Y portions of the base and cate interiorly of the thence outwardly about the perimeter of the base. This is shown more clearly by the lines 35, 36,

Now that the structure of this modified form 31 and 38 which shows the path of travel of typical heat beams with the incidental angles being equal to the' reflected angles, so that as a result, besides radiating the heat completely about the base of the heater; the heat will also be reflected in a plane beginning'from the :door

and upwardly vso as a result a considerable volume of heat is radiated at these portions;

'Ihe spacing of the base from the outer shell provides a maximum area for the downwardly radiated heat to travel as well as the upwardly passing air currents. that the base structure eliminates the Vuse of tends to the floor level. 1

,.A.modif1cation of the foregoingis shownin Figures i Lto" 6 wherein .the vsame general principls are employedwith the exception, howeverthat.the heatoutput of the unit can .be regulated andv wherein otherV features will be self-,evident fromthe description. thisform It will be noted further-Y of structure,the,outer casing 'includesthe sameV Y Y sidelan'dend walls 11j and .1 2; respectively 'and `includesthfesame type, of upper grill v.I4 asV well asthecornerelements' I5. .'Spaced a slightdistance interi'orly of, the. outer casingY lilV isL 'a iure thercasingfhavingthe top` wall 4|',-the side wallsand thefendwalls 4 3. "The top 4| ,is attached4 to lthe rectangular frame 4 4 in which is 'pivotally mounted .a seriesdof vanesp45l which are suitably -pivoted and which include interoperation thereof.

When using a forced draft, the cold air is drawn in the direction of the arrow 63 through the opening at46. The electric motor 49 which drives the blades 5| forces this air upwardly in the direction of the arrows 64 and about the pipe 51Y over the combustion chambers and thencedownwardly and outwardlyas shown by the furtherl arrows 65. Assuming that the vanes 45 are closed, .there will be a greater percentage of heat traveling in the direction explained and regulating the vanes 45 can be opened thereby throwing a greater portion of the heat upwardlylthrough, the top grill.

IfA it is desired to use the unit without employing' the fan or to use a natural draft,V the grill-flaps 45 can be positioned vertically allowing annatural draft to rise in the same relative manner; It will be noted that the plate 54l is spaced a Ydistance beyond the bottom opening 2Q oftheburner I 9 leaving the spacet66 therebetwen.l1-,-During forced draftg vby vmeans i of the blower; -a 'portion of vthe air will thus for forced tliroughfthe opening 66 vand into the burner thereby "providing a forced draft Afeature to insure `a positive supply of air tothe burner.

ItV will be notedthatthe 'channels' 55 which are spaced-from-the sides of the member 52 provide a `restricted area for the'jreception of such forced air; The rcold Vair enters the Vrear of the substantially by the dotted lies .61 and the connecting .;links. so that:y the operation. of one vane. will jsimultaneouslygoperate others.

.rms provides a control ef the ,openingwith mftherramewrkn'tothe-grin I4. ,This-heater' l alspernploys .similarjarcuate 'end Vmembers 25. withghowever, .only a' single `arcuate :member 21 at the forward portion of the base of vthe heater, with the .entire.section ,being lrgzrnovnad at'46 at V portion-which .receives the cold air.

the rear ;of the base.V The openingat' 46 is ad- Y jacent'tggthe transverse; strip 41 which extends .across therear 'ofthe base: VAttached cen- "trally ofthe-arrangement andwithin the base is thei member j48j in` `whichyis mounted the electricallydriven'motor-4Q which carries the shaft 5lito;whi ch is attached the'fan blades 5l.

sub st antially` squareacasing 52 having a lowerY wall 53DQ$it0ned as shown -withrespect to-the blade s 5 l. `Externiing-acros's the base and attached'tothe casing 52 Yare the plates' 54 upon whichfare mounted the channel members 55 which"are adapted to 'support-at one side the.

lfwhiclr are received 'within pair' if burners suitable ,combustion -chambers 22; YAttached between "the combustion shells 2 2 -is the pair of partitions 5B which extend vertically to the approximatejheight as shown fand communicating A communicating with the iefthand combuskpurjpos es It.willybfeenoted"fromfligure 5 that Ithe` plates. 5 4 extend Vrearwardlyfand join with the-lower edgeof sidewall-'42 but are-open 'attheforwardportion'of-the base. Y

tionchamber 2N2- isi the uepipe 5B. vPivoted atl heated air 'passes .downwardly and along the curved portions of the base and aboutthe rest of Ytheperimeter thereof vnotioccupied by vthat 'In other ',words, asVV indicatedby the small arrows 68`there isa wide spread passage of hot airspractica'lly aboutthejentire'base of .the unit -with the fexceptionrofthe rear. VThe curves 28 materially assist in:V throwing `the heat in a positive manner outwardly and tend to sweep the heated air currents along this contourwith the highest possible eliiciency. 1i v f The other features'A of radiation as explained intheheatershown'in Figures 1 to'3 also are present in this construction'. The space 34 provides Yaflargei cross' section for the heated air currents totravel in which cross section is disposedY adjacent :the oor level toV secure the greatest. possible spread in a certain restricted area laterally yas well as vertically. It will be understood that'bases of diierentshapes than the rectangular type described` can be employedl Ving in the direction'of the arrows 64 are restricted-by the' side partitions 56 and Vare thus conned to Yanqarea directly lpassing over the pipe 51. Since thepipe 51 is connected be- .tweenf thei two combustion chambers 22, there ywill be aneifect of the aircurrents directly wiping over this pipezand in intimate Contact therewith vso thata materially increased heat efficiency Uis Veffectedtl'iereby heating the air currents to a substantially larger degree.

A further importantY advantage of this type of heater isthat of rendering it more eicient in fall or spring months when -it is-not Adesired toV use fuel in both burners I9. `For instance, ac-

cordingltothis'structure, the righthand burner I9 need only be employed for'burning purposes. The combustion Vproducts will pass ,through the pipe 51 into the left hand chamber and thence outwardly through the flue pipe 58. Even though the left hand burner i9 is not being utilized for combustion purposes, nevertheless, the hot gases will pass through both combustion chambers thereby transmitting heat to the same almost as well as both burners.

In this manner the left hand combustion chamber will still serve to radiate heat which will be absorbed and transmitted by the aforesaid air currents so that as a result, the heat e'iciency of the unit-will be considerably greater than that employed if only a single combustion chamber were used, and yet the Varrangement will not require the use of fuel for both burners. This also provides a more efcient arrangement than that type of structure wherein the' iiue pipe 'such as 58 leads into the transverse pipe 5l, since the combustion chambers 22 are connected in series instead of parallel to the chimney, thereby causing the heat travel to pass through both drums before passing to the chimney.

It will be noted that a natural vertical circulation of air is provided at all times between the outer casing I0 and the inner shell 46 regardless of the position of the shutters 45, thereby insuring a natural draft in combination with the forced draft. v

Among other advantages readily apparent from the description, it will be noted that I have 1 provided a heater having an efficient base structure, which insures intimate contact of the air .currents with the heating elements, which includes means for providing a restricted cross section for force draft and a larger cross section for natural draft, that I have provided a heater employing a plurality of burners with a method of increasing the efliciency of all of the burners hv using less thanthe total number, that'I have provided means for spreading the heating area to a maximum extent and around the base of the heater and that I have provided a simple arrangement which can be readily operated and cleaned.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention: Y

A heater comprising a base member, said base member including end and side members having substantially concave congurations, a blower fan attached within said base member, a pair of heating elements attached above said base member, a pair of vertical spaced partitions `attached between said heating elements, a casing enclosing' said heating elements and spaced therefrom, said casing providing means whereby heat passing upwardly Aalong said heating elements will thence be deflected downwardly against said f concave configurations, and thereby thence desaid connecting pipe member being positioned vertically above the space between said partitions, said base member having a rear opening communicating to said blower fan, said casing having lower side edges vertically spaced above the `lower portions of said base member and being laterally spaced from the top of said base.

' JAMES T. GROTENHUIS. 

